Emotional First Aid

As human beings, our lives revolve around emotions. We tend to just accept this, and not give it much thought. But nothing about our experience of life is as simple as we may perceive it to be. The closer we look, the more there is to it. Thought and emotion both contribute to the formation of our “mind”; as do the physical body and the spirit. Though this complicates our understanding of our mind, it also provides avenues for self healing.

Physical science studies the tangible physical world, but when it comes to the body, there is always the intangible non-physical consciousness that must be accounted for as well. We artificially separate the tangible and intangible into the “hard” and “soft” sciences to help our minds grasp things, but in reality these are two sides of the same coin.

Dr Candace Pert, author of “Molecules of Emotion” researches emotions, and finds that they are connected to brain chemistry… but a connection doesn’t necessarily define the direction (which came first). Western science perceives everything we experience in life as arising from physical matter, but the whole world is not in agreement. A strong argument can also be made in the exact opposite direction: that everything arises from consciousness. Regardless of what causes what, of importance to emotional first aid (in times of high stress and trauma), is the fact that matter and consciousness are connected; as this provides a means to address emotions in overwhelm.

Acupuncture meridians: the body’s energetic control panel.

The key info bit required for emotional first aid is understanding that emotions are biochemical energy (molecules) that move through the body, and interact with the various levels of energy exchange that allow us to function; eventually affecting electromagnetic, vibrational, conscious and even mechanical patterns. Energy is like a carrier wave that carries information. A transmitting station sends out a carrier wave of electromagnetic energy that may carry the information of a radio station. In the same way, biochemical energy in the body can carry emotional information.

The human body is designed with an energetic control panel, known as the acupuncture meridians. This series of points of increased electrical conductivity allow us to modify energy flow in the body by stimulating the surface of the skin. By physically tapping these points, we can move congested energy through. When these points are tapped during an intense emotional experience, they can help the emotion to pass.

The EFT First Aid page below shows you where to tap. Just focus on the emotion, and continue to cycle through the points illustrated (rapidly tapping each one about 10-15 times), until the emotion becomes manageable. If you rate the negative feelings (on a scale of 0 [neutral] to 10 [extreme]) before and after tapping, you can experience how EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) works. This technique can be used for any emotional issue, such as phobias, and chronic stressors; and can actually remove emotional triggers forever. While you tap through the series of points on your body, you can focus on a single issue that bothers you, or you can rant on about every and anything. The idea is to activate the emotion while you tap – that’s it. Keep tapping through the points until you can rerate your emotional intensity as a zero. At this point (the point where a negative reaction/emotion no longer arises) you and your body have achieved neutrality or “peace” with the issue.

Tap each point 10 – 15 times, and cycle through the points until the emotional intensity subsides.